How to make SQL Server running in Virtual PC accessible to host OS?

Question

I'm running SQL Server 2008 Express on Windows XP on a VirtualPC instance inside a Windows XP host. I want to be able to connect to databases on the guest instance using SSMS on the host. When I go to connect from SSMS on the host, and browse for servers, I see the instance of SQL Server on the guest. Yet when I try to connect, using a SQL authentication login, I get the following connection error:

A network-related or instance-specific error occurred while establishing a connection to SQL Server. The server was not found or was not accessible. Verify that the instance name is correct and that SQL Server is configured to allow remote connections. (provider: SQL Network Interfaces, error: 28 - Server doesn't support requested protocol) (Microsoft SQL Server, Error: -1)

I have:
* tried connecting with both Name Pipes and TCP/IP
* ensured that the SQL Browser service is up
* ensured that the firewall on the guest is open
* the server is configured to allow remote connections (according to the database engine properties within SSMS on the guest)

What am I missing?

EDIT: I figured this out. My resolution is below.

Colonic

Answer 1

SELF-ACCEPTED ANSWER

Thanks for the ideas. After much fiddling I got things working. It turned out that I had not gone into the Sql Server Configuration Manager and enabled TCP/IP and Named Pipes as network protocols. So even though SSMS said remote connections were enabled, there was no protocol to allow for them other than shared memory. After I did this I restarted the SQL Server service, but things still didn't seem to work properly. Yet once I had rebooted both the guest and host, everything was working as expected.

Colonic

Answer 2

How are your IP settings? Are you sharing the same IP address between the two machines? If so, then perhaps when your clients attempt to connect to 10.1.1.10, it is hitting the IP of the machine hosting the VPC instance, and that machine is not running the SQL Server instance. If possible, have VPC get its own IP and try that.

Solidus

Answer 3

Mostly double check what you have already said,
turn off the guest firewall to make sure it isn't that.
Make sure your virtual machine networking is set to bridged and not NAT.
Try connecting to the IP address of the guest instead of its name.
Make sure the remote connections are allowed by SQL server and that both client and server are using tcp/ip (or named pipes if you prefer).
I don't know if enabling remote connections requires a restart of SQL server.
Try using SQL authentication to eliminate an authentication issue. Are you running on a domain?

Breadroot

Answer 4

To add some steps that are not explicitly called out above, what worked in my experience was to set up the Virtual PC's Networking to my physical network adapter.

Then disabled Windows Firewall for the Public Profile.

Hopefully could actually lock that down to port 1433.

Also, on the guest OS, if SQL Server is installed with only Windows Auth, you later add SQL auth, note that by default 'sa' is disabled for login access. Either 'enable' Login for 'sa' or (better idea) create Logins with appropriate permissions as needed.

Tolman